Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

2008 Statistics Fact Sheet

Wage And Hour Collects over $1.4 Billion In Back
Wages For Over 2 Million Employees Since Fiscal Year 2001

The Employment Standards Administration’s Wage and Hour
Division (WHD) recovered more than $185 million in back wages for over 228,000
employees in fiscal year 2008 to put the eight-year cumulative total of back
wages collected by the agency at over $1.4 billion. The agency concluded 28,242
compliance actions and assessed over $9.9 million in civil money penalties.[1]

WHD Enforcement Statistics – All Acts

FY 2001

FY 2002

FY 2003

FY 2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

Back
Wages Collected

$131,954,657

$175,640,492

$212,537,554

$196,664,146

$166,005,014

$171,955,533

$220,613,703

$185,287,827

Employees
Receiving Back Wages

216,647

263,593

342,358

288,296

241,379

246,874

341,624

228,645

Complaints
Registered

29,085

31,413

31,123

31,786

30,375

26,256

24,950

23,845

Enforcement
Hours

998,937>

1,070,600

1,032,879

1,000,739

969,776

951,971

899,406

882,419

Average
Days to Resolve Complaint

139

129

108

92

85

93

97

97

Concluded
Cases

38,051

40,264

39,425

37,842

34,858

31,987

30,467

28,242

The number of registered complaints declined for the fourth
year, reflecting the agency’s emphasis on complaint intake strategies that
screen incoming calls and correspondence to ensure that the issue is properly
within WHD’s enforcement jurisdiction, allowing the agency to focus resources
on targeted investigations. The percentage of WHD complaint investigations
that found no violation of WHD laws remained low at 20 percent as a result of
this strategy. The percentage of “no violation” cases concluded during the
last ten years peaked at 41 percent in FY 1998.

Over 197,000 Employees Received Fair Labor Standards
Act Back Wages

In fiscal year 2008, more than 197,000 employees received a
total of $140.2 million in minimum wage and overtime back wages as a result of
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations. WHD collected over $123 million in
back wages for FLSA overtime violations and more than $16 million for FLSA
minimum wage violations. Back wages for overtime violations represented
approximately 88 percent of all FLSA back wages collected, and the number of
employees receiving overtime back wages represented about 93 percent of all
employees due FLSA back wages. WHD investigators examined FLSA compliance in
over 24,500 of the 28,242 cases concluded during the fiscal year. They found FLSA
violations in 19,000 of those cases: approximately 78 percent. Minimum wage
and / or overtime violations were cited in 17,700 cases. The most frequently
cited violation (in term of the number of employees affected) was the payment
of straight-time pay for overtime-hours worked, which affected approximately
52,000 workers. Approximately 34,000 workers were not paid for all hours
worked. WHD investigators identified approximately 1,600 workers who did not
receive the minimum wage or the correct overtime pay because their employer misdesignated
the employees as independent contractors. WHD also assessed employers $3.1
million in FLSA civil money penalties.

Violation Cases

Back Wages Collected

Percent of FLSA Back Wages

Employees Receiving Back Wages
(duplicated)

Percent of Employees Receiving FLSA Back Wages

Minimum Wage

10,085

$16,557,184

12%

42,199

21%

Overtime

10,105

$123,686,617

88%

182,964

93%

Note: The number of employees receiving back wages sums to
more than the 197,000 because one employee may be due back wages for both
a minimum wage and an overtime violation. The number of violations cases
sums to greater than 17,700 for the same reason.

Violations of The Part 541 Overtime Security
Regulations Decline

Of the $140.2 million in FLSA back wages collected, nearly $12.8
million was collected for approximately 9,600 employees as a result of
violations of the Overtime Security regulations (29 C.F.R. Part 541). This
compares to $16 million collected for approximately 12,000 employees in fiscal
year 2007. The violation cited in the greatest number of cases was one in
which the employees did not meet the duties test required for exempt executive
employees. Violations of the executive duties test were cited in 524 cases and
resulted in back wages of $3.4 million for approximately 2,600 employees. Although
cited in fewer cases, back wages resulting from determinations that employees
failed to meet the duties test for administratively exempt employees were nearly
$4 million and affected approximately 2,900 employees.

Back
Wages Collected For Workers In Low-Wage Industries Continues to Increase

In fiscal year 2008, the agency collected over $57.5 million
in back wages for approximately 77,000 workers in low-wage industries—an
increase of over 77 percent of back wages collected during fiscal year 2001 for
violations in the same group of low-wage industries. The number of employees
receiving back wages in the nine tracked low-wage industries increased nearly
10 percent over those receiving back wages in FY 2001. WHD expended approximately
35 percent of its FY 2008 enforcement hours on cases in the nine low-wage
industries listed below.

Low-Wage Industries Statistics

Cases

Back Wages

Employees

Agriculture

1,600

$2,116,712

5,397

Day
Care

746

$1,058,579

3,070

Restaurants

3,942

$18,917,992

23,433

Garment
Manufacturing

385

$2,596,986

2,278

Guard
Services

633

$13,595,350

13,138

Health
Care

1,302

$11,403,813

15,768

Hotels
and Motels

875

$2,445,094

5,034

Janitorial
Services

507

$3,469,956

5,417

Temporary
Help

309

$1,945163

3,368

Total Low-Wage Industries

10,299

$57,549,645

76,903

Low-Wage Industries Statistics

FY 2001

FY 2002

FY 2003

FY 2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

Back
Wages Collected

$32,470,183

$38,608,612

$39,595,382

$43,141,911

$45,783,743

$50,566,661

$52,722,681

$57,549,645

Employees
Receiving Back Wages

69,469

86,432

80,772

84,897

96,511

86,780

86,560

76,903

Cases
In Low-Wage Industries

14,267

14,016

12,962

12,625

12,468

11,172

11,382

10,299

Low-Wage Workers In The Gulf Coast Receive Over
$11 Million In Back Wages

Since the 2005 hurricanes, WHD has opened 1,102
hurricane-related cases and collected over $11.3 million in back wages for 17,700
workers in concluded cases. The agency also has collected an additional $2
million in back wages on cases not yet concluded. Since
January 2006, WHD has detailed over 35 additional investigators and managers to
the Gulf Coast offices affected
by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. WHD hired four additional investigators and a
manager in New Orleans, Louisiana, and two additional investigators in Gulfport,
Mississippi. In
addition, WHD transferred two team leader investigators to New Orleans for
multi-year details and opened a satellite office space in Kenner, Louisiana
, to provide
greater access to the community. WHD also hired an additional investigator, a
WHD technician, and a new manager in Mobile , Alabama .

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike came
ashore along the east Texas Gulf Coast. In response, WHD began detailing additional staff to
that section of the Gulf Coast region to investigate allegations of labor standards violations
and to conduct directed investigations of government remediation and
reconstruction projects. The agency also began hiring additional investigative
staff, including additional Spanish-language investigators, to support the
increased work associated with hurricane-related clean-up efforts.

WHD continued its work with a
number of groups to provide outreach to workers in the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast region, including
the Hispanic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Mexican
Consulate, and the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. The WHD Houston District Office, in response to
Hurricane Ike, has contacted its partners in the Justice and Equality in the
Workplace partnership initiative to encourage workers to come forward with
allegations of labor law violations.

This past January, WHD hosted a
National Prevailing Wage Conference for the government contracting community,
which included employers, contracting agencies, employee representatives, and
advocacy organizations.

Included among the more
significant cases concluded this fiscal year are:

T.L. Wallace Construction Inc., of
Columbus, Mississippi—Wallace was a subcontractor to Heritage Inc.,
which held the contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) for the inspection and repair of trailers provided to people
affected by Hurricane Katrina. The firm agreed to pay $168,220 in back
wages to 27 employees for violations of the McNamara O’Hara Service Contract
Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

LJC Defense Contracting Inc. in Dothan, Alabama—LJC
entered into a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install
blue tarps as temporary roofing protection on structures damaged by the
hurricanes. The company paid $202,508 in back wages after an
investigation found that 828 current and former construction workers were
not properly paid as required by the Davis Bacon Act (DBA) and the
Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

ICF Emergency Management LLC, headquartered in Fairfax,
Va., and Quadel Housing Services Inc., headquartered in Washington, D.C.—These
private contractors were hired by the state of Louisiana to administer
recovery and rebuilding “Road Home” grants to property owners. The
contractors paid a total of $225,275 in back wages to 399 current and
former housing advisors who were misclassified as exempt from the FLSA
minimum wage and overtime requirements.

In June 2008, WHD filed a lawsuit against Houston-based
Universal Project Management Inc. and Irving, Texas-based Fluor Enterprises
Inc. for failing to pay overtime back wages amounting to more than $1.8 million
to 154 workers who were not properly paid in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita.

WHD Continues Strong Child Labor Enforcement

Results for fiscal year 2008 show a total of 4,734 minors
found illegally employed, an average of 4.2 minors illegally employed per
investigation. The majority of child labor violations occurred when workers
under the age of 16 worked too many hours, too late at night, or too early in
the morning. In total, 2,785 minors were employed in violation of the child
labor hours standards. Hazardous Occupation Order (HO) violations were found
in 41 percent of the cases with child labor violations. Violations of HO No.
12 (paper balers) were the most common type of HO violation found, followed by
violations of HO No. 11 (dough mixers). The high number of minors found
illegally employed in violation of HO No. 12 is consistent with WHD’s FY 2008
initiative to investigate establishments likely to employ minors in violation
of this HO. WHD assessed over $4.2 million in child labor civil money
penalties in fiscal year 2008.

Child Labor Statistics

FY 2001

FY 2002

FY 2003

FY2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

Directed
Child Labor Cases

2,021

2,105

2,031

2,155

1,406

952

1,285

1,269

Cases
With Child Labor Violations

2,103

1,936

1,648

1,616

1,129

1,083

1,249

1,129

Minors
Employed In Violation

9,918

9,690

7,228

5,840

3,703

3,723

4,672

4,734

Minors
Per Case

4.7

5

4.4

3.6

3.3

3.4

3.7

4.2

Cases
With HO Violations

876

747

654

459

396

361

410

466

Minors
Employed In Violation of HOs

2,060

1,710

1,449

1,087

1,091

994

1,000

1,617

The percent of investigator enforcement time spent in
examining child labor compliance increased from 6.7 percent of all enforcement
time in fiscal year 2007 to 6.9 percent in fiscal year 2008. In addition to
conducting directed child labor investigations of employers, WHD investigators
examine employers’ compliance with child labor laws in all on-site
investigations. This past fiscal year, WHD investigators examined child labor
compliance in over 17,360 investigations. Thirty-nine percent of the cases
with child labor violations (438) were investigations in which the primary Act
being investigated was an act other than child labor. In most cases, the
registration Act or primary Act was the FLSA or the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural
Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

Declines in the number of young workers illegally employed from
FY 2001 may also be related to the continued overall decrease in the employment
of workers 16 to 19 years of age. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Current
Population Survey shows a drop in the employment-population ratio of 16- to
19-year-olds from 42.3 percent in 2001 to 34.8 percent in 2007. The annual employment
level of 16- to 19-year-olds fell from approximately 6,740,000 in 2001 to 5,911,000
in 2006.

Family And Medical Leave Act Enforcement Complaints
Declined

The number of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) complaint
cases concluded in fiscal year 2008 continued to decline. While the number of
no violation cases concluded during the fiscal year remained constant, the
number of violation cases declined by eight percent. Termination of employees
seeking FMLA leave continues to be the primary reason that employees filed a
complaint. The number of FMLA complaint cases has declined over the last five
years. This corresponds to a similar decrease in the percentage of cases in
which no violation was found. As with complaints in general, the trend
reflects an emphasis on more efficient complaint intake strategies to ensure
that registered complaints are those on which the agency can act.

During fiscal year 2008, WHD continued to promote FMLA
compliance through its outreach program. WHD field offices participated in
over 161 FMLA compliance assistance events in fiscal year 2008. Approximately
9 percent of all compliance assistance events undertaken by WHD are focused on
increasing compliance with FMLA.

FMLA Enforcement Statistics

FY 2001

FY 2002

FY 2003

FY 2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

Number of Complaint Cases

2,790

3,501

3,565

3,350

2,784

2,161

1,983

1,889

Percent of No-Violation Cases

48%

50%

54%

55%

51%

49%

45%

47%

Nature of Complaint

Refusal to Grant FMLA Leave

629

741

815

697

647

522

459

416

Refusal to Restore to Equivalent
Position

360

400

370

369

328

261

242

220

Termination

1,123

1,503

1,567

1,473

1,132

870

764

757

Failure to Maintain Health
Benefits

62

71

46

48

50

31

29

39

Discrimination

616

786

767

763

627

477

489

457

Status of
Compliance Action

No Violation Cases

1,343

1,766

1,911

1,848

1,429

1,069

896

894

Employer Not Covered

58

63

68

75

37

39

27

29

Employee Not Eligible

164

224

199

238

176

152

82

105

Complaint Not Valid

953

1,281

1,417

1,301

1,058

765

689

655

Other

168

198

227

234

158

113

98

105

Violation Cases

1,447

1,735

1,654

1,502

1,355

1,092

1,087

995

Number of Employees Affected

1,627

2,077

1,867

1,742

1,626

1,200

1,675

1,082

Amount of Back Wages

$2,983,936

$3,731,929

$2,397,876

$2,311,781

$1,867,807

$1,772,342

$1,573,501

$1,532,505

Fiscal Year 2009 Initiatives

WHD will maintain a presence in the Gulf Coast region,
including the recently affected areas of the Texas Gulf Coast as clean-up and
reconstruction activities continue. In addition to this effort, WHD regions
have planned regional and local initiatives for fiscal year 2009. These
initiatives continue to employ the strategies of compliance assistance,
partnerships, and directed enforcement to increase compliance with the FLSA,
including child labor, in low-wage industries. In FY 2009, WHD will continue
to investigate employers who are most likely to employ young workers in
violations of HO No. 12 (balers). These child labor initiatives are typically
concentrated in shopping malls, retail stores, and theaters. WHD’s fiscal year
2009 low-wage initiatives continue in those industries, such as restaurants,
health care, hotels and motels, grocery stores, day care, and construction in
which the agency is most likely to find minimum wage and overtime violations.
WHD investigators will also continue to look for situations in which employers’
misdesignation of employees as independent contractors results in FLSA
violations. As it does each year, WHD will undertake regional and district enforcement
initiatives in agriculture to increase compliance with the all labor standards
statutes applicable to that industry and in reforestation to increase MSPA and SCA
compliance. WHD will also continue to focus on increasing compliance among
prior violators through both directed and complaint investigations and to
effectively manage its complaint program to increase labor standards outcomes
for the greatest number of workers.

December 2008

[1]
The concluded case numbers represent all investigations and conciliations for
which the Department has completed work during the fiscal year. Cases are
generally concluded when back wages are collected and distributed, civil money
penalties are paid, no violations are disclosed, or no further action is
appropriate.